Shrimp Fried Rice Revisited

Sometimes, first attempts don't always turn out right.  So this week, I gave the shrimp fried rice recipe another shot.  I increased the eggs from 2 to 3, added some ground ginger and garlic chili sauce to the beaten eggs, and added some frozen peas and carrots along with the shrimp.  I think I also added a little extra soy sauce because (once again) I used a whole bag of bean sprouts instead of the suggested 1 cup.  I also omitted the baby corn and sliced mushrooms because I forgot to buy them and didn't have any on hand.  I also didn't think I had any green onions (hence the peas), but it turns out I did, so maybe I'll use them next time.  Oops!

I have to say I was more pleased with the flavor this time.  The kids ate it up, too, but as usual, I like to doctor mine up with a little extra something.  For that, I like to add a little sweet chili sauce.

This sauce is pretty hot, so start of slow and add only as much as you need.  It gives this wonderful sweet heat that makes stir fry dishes POP!  I suppose it would be pretty good on just about anything, but that's just me.  :)  Hmmm...I wonder how well it would go with a bowl of vanilla ice cream....?  Just a thought.

We had a bit of a hectic week this week, so a quick throw-together meal we had one night was a popcorn chicken salad.  It really is as simple as it sounds: Bagged salad mix, cottage cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes, popcorn chicken right from the grocery store deli, Ken's honey mustard dressing (I've found I can get the little guy to eat salad so long as it's drenched in honey mustard dressing), some garlic herb croutons, et voilà!

A pound of ground beef can go a long way, when you're cooking for 1 adult and 2 little kiddos.  I used it to make a taco salad (served over crushed up tortilla chips with all the fixings) and a very simple Cowboy Beans recipe.  Both were received very well, I'm please to say.  In fact, while I was prepping the taco beef for the salad, I had another pot on the stove with the Cowboy Beans bubbling away.

Hopefully things will be a little less crazy this weekend, so that I can get back to some more involved recipes.  In the mean time, here's my version of simple Cowboy Beans...

Cowboy Beans (serves 2)

Ingredients:

-1/2 lb lean ground beef

-1/2 medium onion

- large can of your favorite baked beans (at least 20 oz)

- about 1/4 cup barbecue sauce

- about 1/4 lb bagged frozen spinach (no need to thaw)

- fresh ground black pepper

Brown beef with onion in a 3-quart pot.  Drain excess fat.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Immediately reduce heat and simmer until heated through and spinach has thawed (about 10 minutes).  Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Baked Ziti

Last week, I revisited the baked ziti dish, only this time I put my own spin on it.  I'd been doing some reading into low-glycemic index foods, and it turns out that whole wheat pasta is low(er) compared to regular pasta.

Those of you with a sharp eye will also notice I didn't use ziti pasta.  I couldn't find whole wheat ziti noodles at my local store, so penne was the next best thing.

The whole process is very straightforward, and pasta dishes with lots of cheese are a guaranteed hit with my boys, so this is going to become a regular in my recipe repertoire.  Here are the ingredients and steps...

Whole Wheat Baked Ziti/Penne (serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

16 oz whole wheat ziti/penne pasta

16-24 oz ricotta cheese

16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 egg, beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning

2 cups torn baby spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

24-32 oz jar garden style pasta sauce (or your favorite sauce), divided

about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Remove and drain while still slightly undercooked; set aside.

2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

3.  In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients along with 2/3 of the mozzarella cheese and 2/3 of the pasta sauce.  Add pasta and mix to coat evenly.

4.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and spoon pasta mixture into the dish.  Top with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese.

5.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 mins or until heated through.  Allow to set 10-15 minutes prior to serving.

Since you have the spinach in the dish and the veggies from the sauce, this can be a good one-dish meal.  If you want to add more veggies to the sauce, cook them down a little first.  The leftovers are great!  Enjoy!  :)